Manning passes for two touchdowns in return, leads Denver past Pittsburgh

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 9, 2012

DENVER -- After 611 days away, Peyton Manning couldn't wait to get back on the field. Ben Roethlisberger seemed determined to keep him on the sideline.

Manning overcame Pittsburgh's 10-minute advantage in time of possession and led a hurry-up offense that helped the Broncos beat the Steelers 31-19 on Sunday night in his Denver debut.

"It's just one game. I try to keep it in perspective," Manning said. "I know how hard I've worked to get to this point. I know how much help that I've gotten along the way, from a lot of people. I'm very grateful for that. It's special. I will definitely say it's special."

The four-time MVP coming off four neck surgeries that wiped out his final season in Indianapolis last year completed 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked twice and bounced up both times without trouble.

Manning got a big assist from another big-time free agent, cornerback Tracy Porter, whose 43-yard interception return of Roethlisberger's pass with two minutes left and the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead sealed the victory.

"I should've called timeout," Roethlisberger said. "The play clock was running down, I hate to burn timeouts. I should've. We were kind of all over the place.

"There's no one to blame but myself. I already told my teammates and coaches that it's my fault. It's on me. It's disappointing. I hate to let my team down, my coaches, the fans. That loss is squarely on my shoulders. I'll take that and get better and learn from it."

Manning, jettisoned by the Colts in March after missing all of last season with a nerve injury that weakened his throwing arm, took only two snaps in the third quarter. But one was a 71-yard touchdown throw to Demaryius Thomas, Manning's first as a Bronco and the 400th of his career.

He reached the milestone in his 208th career game. Dan Marino did it in his 227th game and Brett Favre in his 228th.

"I love those guys," Manning said. "Brett and Dan are two of my favorite quarterbacks of all time. I don't feel like I belong in their category. But to be sort of mentioned among them is a true honor."

Manning, however, didn't even keep the ball for his trophy case.

"I talked to him after the game and said, 'You're going to let me keep the ball right?' He got one of the game balls, so he gave me that ball," Thomas said. "That's great to be able to catch his 400th. Hopefully he'll sign it for me. I can go back and show my grandkids in the record book."

Manning, who hadn't played in a game that counted since Jan. 8, 2011, spent much of his night on the sideline as Roethlisberger led a clock-chewing offense that had Denver's defenders gassed and Manning antsy as the Steelers converted 11 of 19 third downs.

"That's what Peyton kept saying to me: 'You guys killed us on third down.' We did," Roethlisberger said. "But at the end of the day it doesn't matter when you lose the game."

At one point, Roethlisberger had taken 30 snaps to Manning's one -- a kneel-down -- during two monstrous drives that spanned halftime.

"Roethlisberger was awesome on third down," Manning said. "Wasn't much fun sitting on the bench there all night. Great job by our defense in the end, getting that turnover."

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said playing keep-away from Manning was the game plan.

"That was our intention," Tomlin said. "We need to possess the ball, we needed to get stops and time of possession is just that, though you look at the scoreboard, they got it done, we didn't. The plan didn't come to fruition."

Whenever he was between the lines, Manning was masterful.

After going to the no-huddle midway through the first half, he led Denver on three consecutive 80-yard touchdown drives, picking apart Pittsburgh's defense with precision.

"It helped a lot," Manning said of the hurry-up. "We're going to use the no-huddle as a change-up. Once we did it, it went so well, the coaches kind of said stay with it. I was kind of afraid that might happen."

So were the Steelers.

The Broncos' last drive stalled at the Steelers 8 and they settled for Matt Prater's short field goal and a 25-19 lead with three minutes left.

That was more than enough time for Roethlisberger to beat them, Manning figured.

Porter, though, stepped in front of Emmanuel Sanders and returned the interception 43 yards for the score, and Roethlisberger was sacked three times on his last possession after going down only twice all night.

"Better late than never," said Von Miller, who had two of those sacks.

"That was a great feeling," Manning said. "I hated having to settle for a field goal down there. ... I wanted to get a touchdown, make it a two-score game. You don't like giving the ball to Ben on a two-minute drive. Our defense had been bending all game but never quite breaking. That was a huge play by Porter. Von was bringing the pass rush at the end there, that was fun to see."

Manning's 71-yard TD to Thomas gave Denver a 14-13 lead, but the drive took all of 36 seconds, and the Steelers had possession for the rest of the third quarter, running 27 plays against a gassed Denver defense.

Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace for a 3-yard TD strike early in the fourth quarter but his two-point conversion attempt was knocked down by Justin Bannan, leaving the Steelers with a 19-14 lead.

Manning drove the Broncos 80 yards, hitting tight end Jacob Tamme for the score from a yard out, then hit running back Willis McGahee for the two-point conversion and a 22-19 lead.

Although this one was a screen pass, Thomas' long TD was reminiscent of his 80-yard touchdown on a crossing pattern on the first play of overtime that beat the Steelers 29-23 in the AFC wild-card game eight months ago when Denver was Tim Tebow's turf.

That changed when Manning was released by the Colts on March 7 after 14 seasons and chose Denver as his destination for his comeback two weeks later after a frenzied free agency tour. The Broncos sent Tebow to Broadway 24 hours later.

Manning looked as good as ever Sunday night.

"What can you say?" Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said. "I mean, he's Peyton Manning. He's the same Manning. Everything anybody has ever said about him is probably the same thing I would say tonight."

Notes

Denver DT Ty Warren, playing in his first game since 2009, sprained an elbow in the first half and didn't return. Also hurt in the first half were Steelers O-linemen Marcus Gilbert (knee) and Ramon Foster (eye). Steelers star LB James Harrison (knee) sat out, as did S Ryan Clark, who has sickle cell trait that makes playing at altitude dangerous.

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Flacco's two TD passes lead Ravens past Browns

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens achieved perfection at home for the first time, and now they're looking to add to that ledger in the playoffs.

Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat the bumbling Cleveland Browns 20-14 on Saturday to move one step closer to winning the AFC North.

Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on.

"I have never been perfect at home in 16 years of football. That's amazing," Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said. "As good of teams we've had here, we've always found [a way] to lose one or two here or there. I think this year we really made a focus on taking care at home. This is the result, us being able to go 8-0 and being able to be sitting where you want to sit at the end of the day."

The Ravens would win the AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give Baltimore a first-round bye and a home playoff game - two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo.

"It's big, man," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "We are at our best when we are at (home) and our fans are rocking. So we definitely need a home playoff game, by any means necessary."

Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run.

Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offense and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss.

Cleveland saved the worst for last. Having already burned their three timeouts, the Browns lined up on defense after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 37.

It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside.

As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down.

"It was the first hard count and we stayed onside," Taylor said. "The second time, I just jumped. Of course you feel bad, but you just got to move on."

Said Flacco: "I don't know if I've ever been in position for that to happen. It's never worked."

The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month.

"We knew this would be quite a challenge for us," Cleveland quarterback Seneca Wallace said. "We're playing the Ravens at home, and they're playing for everything. I should have played better, and I should have made better decisions."

Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112 yards, but Cleveland's offense mounted only one decent drive.

The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26 to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards on six carries. But on a third-and-1, Cleveland inexplicably went to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallace's pass for Mohamed Massaquoi.

Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a 60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dickson.

Later, a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard field goal by newcomer Shayne Graham, signed in the middle of the week to take over for the injured Billy Cundiff.

After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind linebacker D'Qwell Jackson on the right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play.

That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on third down.

Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns without a timeout left, Wallace handed off to Hillis instead of spiking the ball, and Hillis went nowhere.

Wallace took the blame, and so did Browns coach Pat Shurmur.

"I need to communicate it better, OK?" Shurmur said.

Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season. The other time it happened was also against Baltimore.

Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-0.

The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the center of the field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the end zone late in the third quarter.

"I was wondering where all the defenders were," Cribbs said. "I saw all the great blocking around me. From there, it was easy. It was just a walk in."

Cribbs also contributed to Cleveland's next touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard TD throw to Evan Moore midway through the fourth quarter.

The Browns forced a punt, but on a fourth-and-4 from the Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left, a pass to Hillis did not produce the necessary yardage.

Taylor's jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed.

Notes

Ravens KR David Reed hurt his left knee and declared himself out for the season. Also, Baltimore OT Marshal Yanda (chest) and CB Cary Williams (concussion) did not play in the second half. Shurmur said the Browns sustained no serious injuries. Cleveland closes the season next Sunday against Pittsburgh.

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Ten-Point Stance: When Brees passes Marino's mark, it deserves an asterisk

Dan Marino didn't play in an era with stats 'artificially enhanced by rules changes.' (US Presswire)

Let's travel back in time for a moment. The year is 1984 and some are calling Dan Marino the best quarterback of all time.

That season, Marino put on a passing display that many said then would never be duplicated. He threw for an NFL record 5,084 yards, a mark that stands to this day, nearly three decades later. What's important to remember most about what Marino did was how Marino did it.

His throws were unbelievably accurate and he did this during a ferocious era of NFL defense. The 1980s were one of the more violent in football when athleticism on the defensive side of the ball, in many ways, was better than the offense. Players like Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White and Ronnie Lott, among many others -- head hunters and rib breakers -- were allowed great latitude to do massive damage to wide receivers and quarterbacks. Receivers weren't protected and quarterbacks were brutalized. Though Marino's quick release helped to protect him from many major hits (though far from all of them) his receivers were hammered.

Fast forward to now, and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees who is only 305 yards away from breaking Marino's mark. Not only will be break it, Brees is likely to shatter it, and like Marino before him, what's most important to remember about what Brees is doing is how he's doing it.

Like Marino, Brees is using pinpoint accuracy to shred defenses. Unlike Marino, Brees is doing it with liberal rules that leave defenses playing with one hand tied behind their back.

In effect, Brees' record will be severely watered down. So much so, that it almost deserves an asterisk.

It's not only Brees. Many of the incredible numbers put up by quarterbacks today are artificially enhanced by rules changes -- particularly changes made in the past several years as the football culture has shifted from an extremely violent one to a just a violent one.

Defensive holding is commonplace now and pass interference calls are astronomically high. It's incredible to watch. It seems as often as not, a long pass downfield ends up in a penalty on the defensive player. This alters how a defender plays a wide receiver. Inevitably, fearing a penalty, a larger cushion is given.

Roughing the passer, blows to the head and the increasing calls for hits on defenseless receivers has given quarterbacks like Brees wide open passing lanes and wide-open receivers. For Marino, it was the Pleistocene age. For Brees, it's the ease of an iPad.

Most important, the new emphasis on player safety has helped eliminate big hits in the center of the field. Players like Lott and Andre Waters intimidated wide receivers who ran across the middle with jaw-cracking hits. Those hits would get a player suspended today. In Marino's day, they were commonplace.

Receivers now go across the middle knowing chances of getting cracked in the head are slim. You see these offenses. Receivers run untouched and wide open. The deep middle is where a defense is most vulnerable and, like any great player, Brees has taken full advantage. The rules have removed lions from the wild allowing the antelope population to prosper.

There's a reason that among the top 10 highest-rated passers of all time only two (Steve Young tied at second) and Joe Montana (tied for ninth) didn't play in the 2000s. It gets more stunning when extrapolated even further. Matt Schaub, Chad Pennington, Daunte Culpepper, Matt Ryan, Jeff Garcia (all played a majority of their career in the 2000s) have better career quarterback ratings than Marino.

Trent Green, Joe Flacco, David Garrard, Donovan McNabb, Rich Gannon, Shaun Hill, Jay Cutler and Marc Bulger (again all played bulk of career in 2000s) have better ratings than Warren Moon, Dan Fouts and John Elway who played the bulk or a significant portion of their careers in the 1980s.

When the head hunters and big hitters are severely restricted from patrolling the middle, the offense naturally explodes.

Marino's mark came during an era when he had to throw through much tighter windows with wide receivers getting decapitated.

This is not to say that Brees isn't a brilliant talent on his way to the Hall of Fame. He is. Brees. Carpet. Red. Roll it out. It's just that his record is a shell of Marino's.

And yes, it deserves an asterisk.

2. This will sound insane but I think this is Bill Belichick's best coaching job ever. Better than the Super Bowl years. Better than when Tom Brady was lost for the season and the Patriots still won 11 games. Best he's ever done.

This might also be Brady's best season. His accuracy has turned players like Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez -- players with great athletic ability and size -- from good players into spectacular ones. He's got the Patriots on the verge of the top seed in the AFC with virtually no running game and no defense.

3. League execs say it's common knowledge that the job Bill Cowher is hoping to get is the Giants. If the Giants fail to make the playoffs with another late season swoon, Cowher could get his wish.

4. I'm told by a several league sources that Kansas City interim coach Romeo Crennel is almost a lock to get the job full-time. One source said it's 80 to 90 percent certain and what Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli could do is bring in a hot offensive coordinator to go with Crennel.

Meanwhile, in Miami, interim coach Todd Bowles doesn't have a chance in hell at keeping that position. Which is a shame.

5a. Champ of the week: Tim Tebow. I still don't think he can play quarterback. His style of play isn't sustainable, but against New England I watched him take some hellacious shots. Not one or two but many. The Patriots were absolutely teeing off and he didn't back down. Watching Tebow was almost ... inspirational.

5b. Chump of the week: Santonio Holmes. Got a celebration penalty while the Jets were getting blown apart by the Eagles. He's a team captain. No, seriously, he is.

5c. Tweet of the week: This week, Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker joined Twitter. One of his first tweets: "Don't tell Bill I'm on here! Thanks! Hahaha!" Too late, dude.

6. Raheem Morris is facing the classic problem of a losing coach. I'm told players are having doubts he can save the season and those doubts have duck-walked into every corner of that locker room. This is when a coach is truly tested. I fear, however, for Morris it is too late to salvage his situation.

7. Best cameo appearance of NFL players in a movie since Necessary Roughness?

8. I think DeMaurice Smith has enough votes on the executive committee to get his $1 million bonus. But the fact anyone was ever opposed to paying it remains mystifying. I mean, absolutely dumbfounding.

9. Former Colts coach Tony Dungy could have any NFL head coach opening he wants. Any he wants and any in college. Every team with an opening has contacted him. College teams have contacted him as well. He talked about NFL teams contacting him while a guest on the Pardon the Interruption show but he was being slightly coy (or more likely with Dungy, humble). After checking with several general managers about Dungy saying he's been approached by several teams, I was told he was near or at the top of almost every list.

Dungy's response to these teams? Thanks but no thanks. I don't think Dungy will ever get into coaching again.

But I do think he'd become a general manager.

10. San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh says Alex Smith is his long-term quarterback. Big. Mistake.

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Brees' three TD passes propel Saints past Lions

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 4, 2011

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees rifled a 20-yard pass over the middle in just the right spot for Lance Moore to make a leaping catch between two defenders in the end zone.

The receiver might have been impressed if he hadn't seen it so many times before.

"He doesn't amaze us. That's just Brees out there," Moore said. "He does it every single day in practice. The rest of the world doesn't get to see it but once a week."

Brees made a little more history for New Orleans and kept mistake-prone Detroit struggling, passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints won their fourth straight, 31-17 against the Lions on Sunday night.

The performance gave Brees 4,031 yards this season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in the first 12 games.

"We were able to spread the ball around and come up with some big plays," Brees said. "I hope our hopes and aspirations are bigger than setting records."

His touchdown passes went for 67 yards to Robert Meachem, 20 yards to Lance Moore and 6 yards to Darren Sproles. He also connected eight times with tight end Jimmy Graham for 89 yards as the Saints (9-3) improved to 6-0 at home while taking a two-game lead over Atlanta in the NFC South.

"He's a stud, a young raw talent but a guy who's figuring it out quickly," Brees said of Graham, who became the first Saints tight end to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season. "I love most his heart and desire."

Matthew Stafford passed for 408 yards and one touchdown for the Lions (7-5), who have lost five of their last seven, but remain in playoff contention.

The Lions hurt themselves with 11 penalties for 107 yards, including three offensive pass interference penalties and a personal foul on tight end Brandon Pettigrew for shoving an official who was trying to get between him and Saints safety Roman Harper after the whistle.

"We lost to the Saints, but we beat ourselves today. Our offense continued to get derailed by penalties," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "We need to act accordingly. We need to be a team that doesn't beat ourselves. We have talent, we have good schemes, good coaching. We cannot afford to be selfish and put the team at risk of taking points off the board and there was way too much of that today."

The mistakes made it impossible for the Lions to keep pace with the league's No. 1 offense, and Detroit missed a chance to take a one-game lead over Chicago and Atlanta in the NFC wild-card race.

"We had a great opportunity to do what we wanted to do," Stafford said. "Obviously, we did not do it tonight. Smart football teams are still playing in January. Teams that make smart decisions don't beat themselves."

Mark Ingram scored New Orleans' first touchdown on a 14-yard run. The Saints then built a 24-7 halftime lead on the touchdowns to Meachem and Moore before Detroit showed signs of mounting a comeback in the third quarter.

Jason Hanson's 31-yard field goal made it 24-10. The Lions pulled within one score on Maurice Morris' 9-yard touchdown reception from Stafford, capping a nine-play, 88-yard drive.

Hanson lined up for 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter that could have pulled the Lions even closer, but it missed wide left.

"We've got a lot of work to do still ... but I like the fact that we're playing with confidence," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I like the fact that we answered in the second half when the momentum shifted."

That answer came on Sproles' TD, which capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive on which Brees found Graham four times for 46 yards.

Graham said he was in man-to-man coverage, "and Drew laid a couple in there for me."

"He's a surgeon out there and makes me look good," Graham added. "When your quarterback has confidence in you, it raises you to a new level."

Although the Lions were without Ndamukong Suh because of his two-game suspension, and also without injured defensive backs Chris Houston (left knee) and Louis Delmas (left knee), Schwartz said that was no excuse for several defensive lapses, particularly in the first half.

"We played poorly on defense. We never gave ourselves a chance," Schwartz said. "We didn't get the job done in coverage, we didn't get the job done rushing the passer."

Still, Detroit got more pressure on Brees than the Saints' recent opponents, sacking him twice, including rookie Nick Fairley's first career sack. Brees had not been sacked in three previous games.

Stafford completed 31 of 44 passes, but was sacked three times and intercepted by Tracy Porter.

Nate Burleson had five catches for 93 yards, while Calvin Johnson had six catches for 69 yards.

Meachem caught three passes for 119 yards.

After Meachem's TD made it 17-0, the Lions responded with an 80-yard scoring drive on which Stafford completed all six of his passes. Kevin Smith's 2-yard TD run made it 17-7.

Moore's score with 22 seconds left in the first half increased the lead to 24-7, but the Lions had a chance to get some points in the final seconds after Titus Young beat Saints defensive back Patrick Robinson deep down the left sideline for a 52-yard gain to the Saints 24.

Robinson saved a touchdown by pushing Young out of bounds, then made amends for his earlier mistake in coverage by coming off the end to block Hanson's field-goal attempt as time expired in the half.

The first quarter was more of a defensive struggle, with the only scoring coming on John Kasay's 39-yard field goal that gave New Orleans a 3-0 lead.

His kick capped a methodical 13-play, 41-yard drive during which the Saints converted three third downs.

Notes

Lions T Jeff Backus set a new franchise record with his 172nd consecutive start, surpassing Hall of Fame CB Dick LeBeau. Schwartz said Fairley was limited by pain in his left foot, which he had injured during training camp, but X-rays were negative. Brees is the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 or more yards in six consecutive seasons. Peyton Manning did it from 1999-2004. Graham now has 1,046 yards this season, making him the first Saints tight end to have more than 1,000 receiving in a season.

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